Coliving, Travelworking, Coworkations: What Do We Call This Thing?

Coliving, Travelworking, Coworkations: What Do We Call This Thing?

The rise in travel-focused coworking programs has totally blown my mind in the last year and a half. There’s so much going on, so many models being developed. Here are a few:

Have fixed locations (like hostels, but nicer) in a few places around the world. Cycle cohorts through them on a monthly or quarterly basis. So far nobody has really achieved this. The people who are close are lacking either the traveling cohort or the fixed locations. Nobody I’ve seen has both. Email me if you know of somebody.

Have one fixed location where people come have a work vacation. That’s a vacation where they work. These are usually on beaches or something. This site seems to have a lot of these, though Outsite is the brand I’ve heard of.

I’m purposefully leaving things out that are less vacation-y or that aren’t adventure/culture destination focused, such as StatupHouse in San Francisco or various other startup houses in SF, Austin, NYC, and other places. People stay in relative squalor in many of these places in order to afford to be in the big city, network, and meet potential investors. The purpose is totally different in these places than in a place like Casa Netural in Matera, Italy.

So what do we call this thing?

Yes, it’s definitely coliving. But coliving happens in small and large cities all around the world, not necessarily tied to travel.

Yes it’s definitely travel, but it’s not the same as backpacking through Europe, perhaps with your best friend, staying at random hostels along the way. It’s far more organized than that.

Yes, it’s also coworking, because in order to do these extended trips you need a remote income. In fact, most providers don’t even want trust fund kids, so having an interesting project is a must. They want to have a good group dynamic.

Ryan Chatterton

Ryan is the founder of Coworking Insights, a coworking media platform focused on delivering unique and in-depth insights for coworking founders and their teams. He’s the Marketing Director at Habu, a quickly growing coworking management platform that is simple, fast, and intuitive for managing recurring billing, bookings, and other admin tasks. Formerly with Impact Hub and PARISOMA, Ryan now has over 4 years of combined experience in a variety of roles in the coworking industry, including marketing, events, operations, sales, software, and partnerships. He’s a digital nomad and a lover of wine and tacos. Follow Ryan's personal blog at https://ryanchatterton.com.